I. moth ‧ ball 1 /ˈmɒθbɔːl $ ˈmɒːθbɒːl/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable usually plural] a small ball made of a strong-smelling chemical, used for keeping moths away from clothes
2 . in/into mothballs kept but not used for a long time:
With the end of the Cold War, several warships were put into mothballs.
II. mothball 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to stop using a factory, equipment etc or to not continue with a plan, temporarily but possibly for a long time:
The hospital manager said the project would be mothballed until funding became available.